REVIEW: Ticket Out (2010)

If all “exit tickets” were like this one, life would have been a lot more exciting, I am sure. The story of “Ticket Out” is about a family of four, the head of which, Dennis (Billy Burke) is an abusive husband, who cannot control his anger towards not only his beautiful wife Joselyn (Alexandra Breckenridge) but also his two kids DJ and Mary Sue.

The movie starts in court, with physical abuse case against Dennis, which he wins, and gets his right to see his children once a week.

The kids are afraid of him, and it doesn’t take too long before Dennis exposes his darker side again by hitting his son, and Joselyn, this time, decides to hide herself and the kids away from Dennis, and what’s even better – get as far away from him as possible, violating the court verdict.

This is where Jim (Ray Liotta) comes in, a worker for the secret underground organization that helps families like Joselyn’s to escape abusive family members.

From there on, its mostly a road journey for Jim and Joselyn’s family, with Dennis and federal agents trying to find and bring them back. In the end, some interesting details are revealed, when Joselyn and her kids are so close to finally seeing some hope of a normal abuse-free life.

I am not sure if such “underground organizations” like the one mentioned in the film really exist, but it fits well within the movie. Basically, its a family drama, and similar things happen all over the world, all the time.

Ray Liotta portrays a rather “calm” character, compared to his other recent works, and I must admit – as much as I love Ray’s acting, he is just not convincing enough to be playing “normal people”.

Or maybe, I am just used to seeing him portray crazy characters bursting with anger, or psychos, but it doesn’t change the fact that this film doesn’t add much to his already established and impressive film list.

Alexandra Breckenridge is definitely an eye candy, she shows signs of a very solid, respected actress, and I hope her future projects will only improve. She gets to change her hair color in the movie, and whether she’s blonde or brunette – still looks fantastic. Take a note, folks.

As for Billy Burke, before “Ticket Out”, I’ve only seen him in “Drive Angry” with Nicholas Cage, and he seems to enjoy portraying these evil characters on screen.

He doesn’t have enough material to work with in “Ticket Out”, as his role is secondary and rather pale. I hope he doesn’t get stereotyped playing villains all the time.

As for the movie itself, if you like dramas, you can check it out, just don’t expect anything unusual.

The film has a few surprises, but they’re presented in such way, and so late, that you’re not really given any “boost” so to speak, and the film remains mediocre at best. It’s neatly made, but not exciting. I dare to hope this was not a “ticket out” for a good cast, that the film had.

One Comment

Absolutely nothing is presented in the movie that would convince a watcher that the abuse is anything but alleged. In fact, since the wife/mother is presented as somewhat daffy- for all the watcher of the film knows- she could have planed the abuse notions in the mind of her son.

Again- no abuse is shown, only alleged, and in spite of that fact the mother is made out to be a hero, even while committing multiple felonies including armed robbery and assault as she flees across several state lines headed for Canada. A terribly unfair and biased film!

Advertise with BZFilm

BZFilm.com is a certified seller of 2Checkout.com. Contact us regarding promotion of your film project, advertising or other business proposal, and lets work together. E-mail: farmazon(AT)rocketmail.com